About Us

Frankie's Italian Bar & Grill is an exciting award winning Italian restaurant concept, created as a result of collaboration between English culinary giant Marco Pierre White and jockey legend Frankie Dettori. The service combines fine - as well as casual dining in a relaxed and cosy atmosphere, featuring a menu with over 80 dishes reflecting authentic Italian cuisine. Located on the ever popular and busting JBR walk, Frankie's has a vibrant bar with live entertainment seven days a week playing all time favourites from Frank Sinatra to U2 and back.

The Story

Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill is based upon the partnership between one of the greatest chefs of all time, Marco Pierre White, and one of the most recognized award-winning jockeys, Frankie Dettori. Both Frankie and Marco are at the pinnacle of their respective fields and Frankie's Italian Bar & Grill is a direct result of this collaboration of talent.

The original restaurant opened in Knightsbridge and exapnded to Chiswick, Putney and Selfridges, London before partnering up with RMAL Hospitality and oepning its first UAE restaurant in Dubai, 2007.

The stylish restaurant is an eclectic mix of relaxed Italian dining and sumptuous Italian fare. Marco Pierre White and Rmal Hospitality have together reworked, updated and improved classic recipes to add a modern twist to the more conventional Italian recipes of the past.

The menu is a fusion of the traditional such as lasagna, pizzas and bruschetta, alongside innovative dishes of truffle rice croquettes and eggplant roulade. Together Marco and RMAL have deliberately put food in the foreground; with only the freshest produce being used to create the carefully crafted recipes. Marco Pierre White has become synonymous with a superior culinary experience and Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill is a clear reflection of this.

Events

We're back with a chuckle and a giant guffaw for our ‘Dine and Laugh’ shows. Catch the best stand-up comics of Dubai and Abu Dhabi over the best of Italian food and wine.
At Frankie’s Italian Bar and Grill, Oasis Beach Tower on JBRAugust 19, 2017 & September 2, 2017
And Frankie’s Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu DhabiSeptember 9, 2017

Marco Pierre White

Celebrity Chef

After leaving Allerton High School in Leeds without any qualifications, Marco Pierre White decided to train as a chef. He began his training in the kitchen of the Hotel St George in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, later moving on to the Box Tree in Ilkley, West Yorkshire. Arriving in London as a 16-year-old with "£7.36, a box of books and a bag of clothes" he began his classical training as a commis under Albert Roux and Michel Roux at Le Gavroche, a period that would lead Albert to describe him as "my little bunny".

On completion of his training in 1987, White opened Harveys in Wandsworth Common, London (now the site of Chez Bruce), where he won his first Michelin star almost immediately. Shortly after, he was awarded his second in 1988, before moving on to become chef-patron of The Restaurant Marco Pierre White in the dining room at the former Hyde Park Hotel, now known as Mandarin Oriental. It was here White was awarded his third Michelin star and where he remained for some time, later moving on the Oak Room at Le Meridien in Piccadilly. During these years White had an abundance of budding talent working for him, including the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Eric Chavot (The Capital), Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck), Bryn Williams (Odette's), Matt Tebbutt (The Foxhunter), Robert Reid, Thierry Busset, Jason Atherton and James Stocks. In his front of house during this time Marco worked alongside Max (Mark) Palmer (one of the few English Maître d' of a Michelin 3-star), Claude Douart, Philippe Messy (youngest sommelier to gain 3 Michelin stars) and Chris Jones, who was an unusual candidate in being an English sommelier in a 2-star Michelin French restaurant at the young age of 21.

By the age of 33, Marco Pierre White had become the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars in England.

Although White worked tirelessly for 17 years to pursue his ambition, he ultimately found that, despite his accomplishments, recognition and fame, his career did not provide him with adequate returns in his personal life. So in 1999, he retired and returned his Michelin stars. Stating, ‘‘I was being judged by people who had less knowledge than me, so what was it truly worth? I gave Michelin inspectors too much respect, and I belittled myself. I had three options: I could be a prisoner of my world and continue to work six days a week, I could live a lie and charge high prices and not be behind the stove or I could give my stars back, spend time with my children and re-invent myself.’’

White announced his retirement from the kitchen in 1999 and cooked his final meal for a paying customer on 23 December at the Oak Room. After his retirement he became a restaurateur. Together with Jimmy Lahoud he set up White Star Line Ltd, which currently owns the Belvedere and L'Escargot restaurants in London. White also has a stake in The Yew Tree Inn, a 17th-century dining pub near Highclere in North Hampshire. This was the setting for much of "Marco's Great British Feast," a series screened on ITV in summer 2008. In January 2009 it was reported that White was to charge £5 for a pint of real ale at the venue, making the Yew Tree "one of the most expensive places to drink British real ale in the country." White was quoted saying "most pubs undercharge. You're not just paying for beer; you're paying for the place you drink it in and the people who serve it."

Frankie Dettori

Jocky

On 15 December 1970 Lanfranco Dettori was born in Milan, Italy, practically with a riding crop in his hand. Gianfranco, his father, was a champion jockey in Italy and his mother was a professional circus performer, whose specialty was to perform back flips while riding astride two horses.

At the age of eight, Frankie was given his first mount: a palomino pony. Every night, Frankie used to hone his riding skills on the pony for at least half an hour. So committed was Frankie to riding that school was of little use, and he left at 13 to become a stable boy and apprentice jockey. The following year, Frankie left his native Italy for Britain, to work for Italian trainer Luca Cumani, in Newmarket. The gamble paid dividends. Within two years, Frankie had ridden winners in Italy and in England, and further successes followed. In 1989, Frankie Dettori was made Luca Cumani's stable jockey after becoming Champion Apprentice. The wins started to pour in and in 1990 Frankie, still a teenager, managed to record one hundred victories. Not since Lester Piggot had a jockey won so many races in their teens. The next year he won his first derby in Germany, and the young Italian was quickly establishing himself in the jockey hierarchy.

Dettori was also cultivating what was to become one of his greatest strengths. He aimed to ride with his hands as low as possible, which had the effect of relaxing the horse. This was augmented by his innate ability to get the best out of his horses, especially in the latter stages of a race. This 'Frankie Factor', coupled with a shrewd mind for racing, was put to devastating effect time and again. Indeed, Dettori used his ability over the years to win every single major race, with the exception of the Epsom Derby. On 28 September 1998, at Ascot, he won each of the seven races he entered. It is very unlikely that such a feat will ever be equalled, let alone bettered.

An ardent Anglophile, he thrives on English culture: Frankie is an avid Arsenal supporter, has a line of frozen Italian food and was even awarded an honorary MBE in 2000. In 2003, he quit as one of the team captains on the BBC panel show 'A Question of Sport' when a participant asked him when he had retired from riding. Since then he has dedicated himself to the sport.

He became the British Champion Jockey in 2004 and celebrated with one of his well-known 'flying dismounts'. The same year, he opened a restaurant with Marco Pierre White in Putney, London called Frankie's Bar and Grill. And so the partnership with Marco Pierre White was born; Dettori explains ‘‘Well, it was always my dream that I would open a restaurant. But I didn’t expect to be in with Marco Pierre White, who’s one of the best chefs in the world. Being Italian, we have this great passion about food.’’

Matteo Guerra

Head Chef

Head chef at Frankie’s Dubai restaurant in JBR, Matteo Guerra is a true aficionado of Italian cuisine and a masterful maestro in the kitchen. Hailing from Sardinia, his career has taken him literally all over the world – from his home country to France, Germany, Dubai, Canada and Denmark. Happily for us he’s back in Dubai and turning everyone’s expectations on their heads, with a return to traditional Italian fare and flair, with an emphasis firmly on authenticity.

Entertainment

Wednesday to Friday

Jazz & Soul duo

Kevin and Donavan Mesmerize Diners with Their Eclectic Jazz Hits

Responding to popular demand, diners now have the opportunity to enjoy the live performances for longer. Guests will be captivated by the sounds of Kevin and Donovan five nights a week, Wednesday to Friday , 8:30pm onward.

Making the crowd feel the music is the collaborative goal of Kevin and Donavan who compliment the fine Italian dining experience at Frankie’s with their performance. Originally from New York, Kevin is a producer and songwriter who has collaborated with various artists in Dubai spanning over eight years. In the past, he performed in diverse markets like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, before setting up his studio in Dubai. Donovan, the pianist, hails from Cape Town. Music is his passion, and he has been performing at several venues over 14 years.

Massimiliano Falchi ‘Maci’

Maci, an Italian musician, studied classic piano and music composition, before switching to music technology. He has collaborated with several international artistes across the globe, performing at some well-known destinations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.